Attachments
OVERVIEW
The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) identified 57 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in Syria in 2023, compared to 45 in 2022. In these incidents, health facilities were damaged or destroyed 22 times, 11 health workers were arrested, and eight others were killed. This factsheet is based on the dataset 2023 SYR SHCC Health Care Data, which is available for download on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).
THE CONTEXT
The protracted crisis in Syria has been ongoing for 13 years, during which health infrastructure has consistently come under attack, devastating the health care system. In both the northwest and northeast of the country, health facilities remained heavily damaged by the ongoing conflict, while many lacked medical supplies or qualified staff.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, although there was a small decrease in political violence in 2023 compared to 2022, attacks on health care continued across the country. In early October, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) carried out extensive bombing campaigns in Al-Hasakah and Aleppo governorates, while the Syrian Armed Forces (SAF) carried out air strikes in Idlib governorate. These bombing campaigns damaged and destroyed both health infrastructure and other civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, including health workers.
Humanitarian needs across the country were substantial, with an estimated 15.3 million people requiring humanitarian assistance in 2023, while a changing geopolitical context further exacerbated the difficulties faced by humanitarian operations.